Q&A: Heather Whaling

Wednesday

Nov 16, 2011 at 12:01 AMNov 17, 2011 at 6:00 PM

It took two years for Heather Whaling to move Geben Communication out of her house and into a German Village office. Now she's helping more companies in Columbus and beyond tell their stories. Here's more about hers.

John Ross, Columbus Alive

It took two years for Heather Whaling to move Geben Communication out of her house and into a German Village office. Now she's helping more companies in Columbus and beyond tell their stories. Here's more about hers.

My husband and I moved back to Columbus from Orlando. I was the director of public relations for an agency there. We lived just north of Downtown, so we weren't really in the touristy area. It was just like living in any other city - just with better weather. My family and my husband's family are both here, so we wanted to move back to Ohio to be closer to them.

In September 2009, I gave notice to my agency. I launched my company at the beginning of December and then, on Christmas Eve, I signed a New York Times best-selling author as one of my first clients. I haven't really slowed down since then.

I didn't necessarily know this was what I wanted to do. But once I found it, I loved it. I actually started out at the University of Missouri as a journalism major. I think at some point I wanted to be a lawyer. I was an education major for about a two-week period.

Professionally, the best advice I ever received is from Peter Shankman. He's a PR and social-media person. He said, "Don't let the fear of failure prevent you from crossing the start line."

Personally, the best advice I ever received is from my dad. He always told me when I was growing up that the right action produces the right result. I try to think of that as I'm making decisions or if I'm stuck in a hard place and don't know what to do.

If stranded on a desert island, three things I would want with me are the internet and my iPad, a stack of really good books and some wine.

The first thing I would do with $1 million is probably set up some kind of foundation to support programs that support women and girls. We do a lot of work with nonprofits here, and I'm a big believer in the power of nonprofits. Then I would also do a little frivolous shoe shopping.

Something people might not know about me is that I've never had coffee. There's something about the smell of it - I don't like it. I've probably had like a sip before and hated it.